Saudi Arabia which sees Iran as the key factor in its failures in the region from Syria and Iraq to Yemen has been using all tools to hurt Iran since 2015, according to Iranian official newspaper “Iran”.

Therefore, various media outlets and news networks with a fully anti-Iran approach were launched in different countries after 2016, from which Iran International is an example.

Iran International TV

Iran International is a network formed by Saudi Arabia in 2017 in London and adopts a completely anti-Iran approach.

Owner of Volant Media Ltd which runs Iran International is a Saudi man, named Adel Al-Abdulkarim.

Al-Abdulkarim has a long record of cooperation with individuals and companies in Saudi media and newspapers.

One of the staff members of Iran International has revealed that the network’s stories are influenced by some anonymous investors.

According to the British newspaper The Guardian, Saudi Arabia has provided a 250-million-dollar fund for Iran International in 2018.

The British weekly The Economist revealed that the investors of Iran International are Saudi nationals.

Also, the American newspaper the Wall Street Journal reported that individuals in Saudi Arabia have established and funded Iran International in order to compete against Iran’s influence in the region.

The Guardian says that former royal advisor Saud al-Qahtani who was fired after the 2018 murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is one of the under-the-curtain financial supporters of Iran International.

“… Saudi Arabia shows zero tolerance for criticism of its absolute monarchy, as underlined by Khashoggi’s murder, it is setting up media organizations in other languages promoting free speech, particularly about Iran,” the Guardian has reported.

Massoud Khodabandeh, former member of Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO), disclosed some issues about the anti-Iran news network in an interview about two months ago.

According to Khodabandeh, Iran International is not an unknown network because its owner and its company had already been broadcasting the MKO programs.

Iran International has been established to be the MKO language, he noted, adding that the MKO session was covered live through Iran International two years ago.

For years ago, Iran International gave its tribune as an amateur move to the terrorist group who killed people in southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz in September 2018.

Although Iran International claims that it has no links with Saudis, its financial resources reveal that Saudi Arabia financially supports the network to follow Saudi regional policies.

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Saudi Arabia is often accused of supporting jihadist groups. Now, the monarchy is helping Berlin’s security authorities in the fight against terror. What appears to be a contradiction is not.

A jihadi inspired rampage in a regional train near Würzburg; and a bomb attack – designed to kill a large number of people but gone awry – in Ansbach: Both attacks were supposedly orchestrated by men in Saudi Arabia that gave the attackers instructions from afar, via chat.

That is the story the German magazine “Spiegel” is reporting in connection to chat protocols in the possession of federal agencies. The magazine also refers to information provided by a high-ranking government official in the Saudi capital Riyadh. According to the official, several telephone numbers show that the two young men were in close contact with the terrorist organization “Islamic State” (IS) in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government has now announced comprehensive cooperation with Germany in investigating the recent attacks in Bavaria.

For years, Saudi Arabia has been the source of what has appeared to be contradictory information. First, the country is accused of exporting an extremely conservative strain of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism, which also happens to be the kingdom’s state religion. Shortly after the outbreak of war in Syria, accusations that the monarchy was financing jihadi groups that were not only seeking to topple the Assad government but also create a new “caliphate” under the control of the terror organization “Islamic State” (IS), grew louder. And finally, for years the West has considered Saudi Arabia to be an important partner in the fight against jihadist terror.

Dubious commitment

Sebastian Sons, Middle East expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), tells DW that the news is not as contradictory as it initially seems. “The Saudi government has been involved in the fight against terror since the attacks on America in September 2001. That was partially a reaction to US pressure. But it was also because institutions in the kingdom were increasingly the target of jihadist attacks as well, first by al-Qaeda and later ‘IS.’”

At the same time there are a number of religious foundations in the country, and some of these, as well as a number of wealthy individuals, have great sympathy for the aims of “IS” and provide the organization with financing. “Such money transactions are now being very closely monitored.” Yet, there is no way to exert total control over them. “Firstly, Saudi Arabia doesn’t have the capacity to do so. And secondly, one has to say that there is serious doubt about whether they have the political will to do so.”

Nevertheless, even if the royal house had the will, it would be able to do little about it. Because the House of Saud, which has controlled the country since it was founded in the eighteenth century, is totally dependent upon the conservative Wahhabis. It is the religious movement that lends the Sauds the ideological legitimacy upon which their rule is based.

Alliance between religion and politics

The moral foundation for the rule of the Sauds was established by a religious scholar hailing from an area near what is now the capital Riyadh. Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, as the scholar was known, was born in 1703, the son of a judge.

Ibn Wahhab developed an entirely new criteria with which to judge the legitimacy of regional rulers. This legitimacy, he said, only existed as long as rulers abided by the tenets of religious faith. Political leaders, according to Wahhab, must comply to the will of god in all that they do. Should they fail to do so, they forfeit their legitimacy.

Thus, subjects were given a clear criteria with which to judge their rulers: Do their actions express the will of god, or not? It was a radically emancipating idea, yet it carried the seed of later abuses in it from the start: For who determines what god’s will is?

Ibn Wahhab came up with a unique solution to the problem: He directly tied religious power to political power. And he did so by seeking out an alliance with the most powerful partner of his day: Prince Saud l., ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad al-Saud, the conquerer of the Emirate of Diriyah, the first Saudi state. The prince secured the theological power of his religious partner with his own military might. And in return, the legitimacy of his political rule received the scholar’s religious blessing.

The alliance between these two families, the ruling Sauds and the descendants of ibn-Wahhab responsible for answering all religious questions in the kingdom, has continued to hold until this day.

Unresolved dilemma

This alliance, by necessity, also determines the royal family’s current reaction to terror. “The royal family sees terrorism as an extreme security threat, but it still has to align itself with the Wahhabi scholars in terms of ideology,” says Sebastian Sons. This means that the monarchy is constantly forced to tolerate its – at times radical – world view. They rarely have the luxury of refusing to give their support. “The structure of the Saudi state is based upon the alliance between Wahhabi scholarship and the House of Saud. That is a unsolvable dilemma for the royal family, even today.”

That means that the rest of the world will have to live with the reality of more attacks being orchestrated from Saudi Arabia. As long as ideological extremism cannot be overcome, security measures can only help to a point.

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Turki Faisal has raised the anger of Iranian officials by attending Mojahedin-e Khalgh’s annual congress in Paris. 

When it comes to politics, there are only a handful of things that bring Iranians together in unison. Of these enviable handful, opposition to Mojahedin-e Khalgh, MEK/MKO, stands on top of the list. It beats contenders for its ability to unite not only Iranians inside the country and those loyal to the Islamic Republic, but also the majority of the establishment’s critics and opposition groups outside the country.

The Mojahedin-e Khalgh Organization, aka MEK/MKO, described by Bobby Ghosh as "1 part opposition, 3 parts terror group, 6 parts cult", earned the grudge of Iranians early in the 1980s after it resorted to armed opposition and wave of blind terror that targeted not only officials of the nascent Islamic Republic, but also civilians. Yet, it was the organization’s decision to side with Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein during his eight year war against Iran that served as the last straw and turned MEK into a national target of hatred.

On July 9, the group held its annual gathering in Paris with its typical pomp and circumstances and hired supporters gathering to voice their support for Maryam Rajavi, head of MEK and self-proclaimed president of Iran. Were it not for some unexpected guests, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs would perform the ritual summoning of the French ambassador to Tehran after the event and let the story to rest. However, former chief of Saudi intelligence service Turki al Faisal was invited to the event, uttering provocative remarks against the Islamic Republic and wishing for its overthrow. This was apparently more than Tehran could tolerate.

Reactions to Turki Faisal’s speech in MEK’s Paris gathering were predictably fierce. In his Instagram account, Mohsen Rezaei, former Revolutionary Guards’ commander, threatened that if Iran became angry, it would "leave no trace of the House of Saud on earth", a strong reaction even in his own scale. Rezaei accused Riyadh of holding secret meetings with Iranian Kurdish separatist groups in Erbil, capital of Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq, after which terror attacks were carried out, apparently against Iranian targets, in Iraqi Kurdistan. "Saudi Arabia’s official en the MEK shows that all terrorist attacks carried out in the recent years by this group enjoyed Saudi support."

Tabnak, affiliated with Mohsen Rezaei, followed the same line. "[Faisal’s] official, open support for the MEK, removed all doubts about Saudi Arabia’s support for criminal acts of this terrorist group" the website said. "This becomes important knowing that many of these acts of terror were carried out during the time Faisal held an official position in the highest level of the Saudi establishment" it added. Tabnak also stated that from now on, Saudi Arabia will be viewed as responsible for any action carried out against Iran by the MEK, and Iran reserves the right to show appropriate response.

The hardliner Mashregh News pointed to the unprecedented coverage of the MEK gathering by Saudi-sponsored media, including al Arabiya, al Hadath, and Sky News Arabia. Mashregh News called Riyadh support for MEK, "an out-of-date group", a sign of Saudi Arabia’s "absolute failure in its anti-Iran policies".

"Saudi Arabia has extensive relations with the MEK" said Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in an interview with Al Alam, the international state-run Arabic channel of Iran. Amir-Abdollahian, who recently left his position as Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs, added that remarks by Turki Faisal prove that sponsoring terrorism has been always on Riyadh’s agenda. "Riyadh’s strategic mistake of wielding terrorism in [order to influence] regional developments, will bring irreparable damage to Riyadh and all of us" in the Middle East the Iranian diplomat added.

Another diplomat, Alireza Miryousefi, head of the Iranian foreign ministry’s Middle East research center was less soft-spoken, calling Turki Faisal’s attendance at the MEK annual gathering a sign of Riyadh’s "desperation" and the consequent "stupidity". Miryousefi claimed that de-listing the MEK as a terror threat in 2012 by the US was thanks to "Saudi petrodollars". He also attributed Riyadh’s recent move to its struggle with domestic and regional challenges, and its need to project those challenges to the region. "In its instrumental use of terrorists, Riyadh is playing with fire" Miryousefi warned.

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A Saudi political analyst and the director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs in Washington DC, blew the lid off the Saudi Arabia’s multi-million dollars aid to the Mujahedin-e Khalq terrorist group.

Ali AlAhmed revealed on his Twitter page that US sources told him that the Saudi Arabia supplied MKO with the aid of millions of dollars.

Earlier in May 2012, The Guardian reported an investigation by the US Treasury Department has indicated that the terrorist MKO was financially sponsored by the Israeli regime or Saudi Arabia.

"There are some US officials who suspect that, because of the amounts involved, money is also coming from other sources, mostly likely Saudi Arabia or Israel. Those officials point to circumstantial but not definitive evidence that Israel may have used the MEK in the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists."

Press TV also cited one of the defectors of the MKO as saying that the MKO received funding from Saudi Arabia and Israel, emphasizing MKO’s role in the suppression and massacre of Iraqis under the former Baath regime.

Maryam Sanjabi said there is evidence about the relations and cooperation between the MKO and the Saudi kingdom.

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"Our information shows that Saudi officials are behind the financial backings for the launch of a satellite TV network for the MKO terrorist group with the aim of propaganda against the ruling system in Iran," he told Ashraf News Website.

"MKO members living in Europe have met Saudi ambassador to London Mohammed bin Nawaf al-Saud and asked him to support the channel," the source said, adding that the Saudi official has accepted to provide financial backup for the project if the channel’s policies are set by Riyadh.

The channel named "Raha" will work in line with the policies of the al-Arabiya News Channel’s editorial policy. At least 45 people are currently working in the office of the TV channel in London.

The MKO terrorist group, founded in the 1960s, blended elements of Islamism and Stalinism and participated in the overthrow of the US-backed Shah of Iran in 1979. Ahead of the revolution, the MKO conducted attacks and assassinations against both Iranian and Western targets.

Leaders of the group have been fighting to shed its terrorist tag after a series of bloody anti-Western attacks in the 1970s, and nearly 33 years of violent struggle against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The group started assassination of the citizens and officials after the revolution in a bid to take control of the newly established Islamic Republic. It killed several of Iran’s new leaders in the early years after the revolution, including the then President, Mohammad Ali Rajayee, Prime Minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar and the Judiciary Chief, Mohammad Hossein Beheshti who were killed in bomb attacks by MKO members in 1981.

The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it was protected by Saddam Hussein and where it helped the Iraqi dictator suppress Shiite and Kurd uprisings in the country.

The terrorist group joined Saddam’s army during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988) and helped Saddam and killed thousands of Iranian civilians and soldiers during the US-backed Iraqi imposed war on Iran.

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A file photo shows a member of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MKO) holding his weapon as he stands guard near the terrorist group’s base in northern Iraq.

According to the reports coming from Baghdad, the US has asked its allies in the region, including Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Qatar and Pakistan, to give refuge to MKO members for conducting espionage activities on their soil.

The move came after the Iraqi government expressed determination to close Camp Ashraf, the base of the terrorist group located in the eastern province of Diyala and to expel all MKO members from the country. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has repeatedly said that the Iraqi government cannot permit a criminal gang to remain in the country.

Meanwhile, the terrorist group has also announced that it is ready for a gradual pullout from Camp Ashraf.

The Ashraf Camp, about 120 kilometers (74.5 miles) west of the Iranian border, currently houses more than 3,400 MKO members. The notorious camp was scheduled to be closed by the end of 2011, but a few days before the planned expulsion, the Iraqi government, under US pressure, agreed to a UN plea to extend by six months a year-end deadline to shut down the headquarters of the anti-Iran terrorist group on its soil.

Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization, which has carried out numerous acts of terror and violence against Iranian civilians and government officials, fled to Iraq in 1986, where it enjoyed the support of Iraq’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein and fought alongside Iraqi troops during the Iran-Iraq war.

The terrorist group is also known to have collaborated with Saddam in the bloody repression of the 1991 Shia Muslims in southern Iraq and the massacre of Iraqi Kurds in the country’s north.

Iran has repeatedly called on the Iraqi government to expel the group, but the US has been blocking the expulsion by mounting pressure on the Iraqi government.

While the MKO is designated as a terrorist organization under US law, and has been described by State Department officials as a repressive cult, The New York Times recently reported that Washington is mulling over removing the MKO from its terrorist watch list and giving refuge to its members.

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Center of Islamic Haramain, according to informed sources, reported that Rajavi and some of the leaders of the organization who have left Iraq for Jordan in order to move to European capitals and take political asylum, met with a number of intelligence officials of Israel, Saudi Arabia, as well as Jordan, US and France.

The sources added that Saudi intelligence chief and head of terrorist Mujahedeen, Masoud Rajavi, disscused the latest incidents in Iran, and organizing projects for future iranian regime but Muqrin postponed a decision for Rajavi’s request to open an office of his organization in Riyadh to discuss the matter with other senior Saudi officials, while other reports say that Egypt In agreement with Saudi Arabia has offered to open an office for the Organization in Cairo.

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In an MKO congress held recently in MKO’s Ashraf military camp in Iraq, Prince Bandar donated $750,000 to the exiled terrorist group in the presence of the former Iraqi Baath leaders, intelligence officers, several members of al-Qaeda and armed group Ansar al-Sunna, Baztab Internet site reported.

The Iraqi daily ‘Al-Bayyinah al-Jadidah’ wrote the Saudi prince has mentioned several conditions for helping the congress of terrorists, including the weakening of the present Iraqi government and the participation of Sunnis and Shiites who supported the former Ba’athist regime in the congress.

Prince Bandar, who has served 20 years in the US, has close ties with US President George W. Bush.

The Saudi prince has also played a pivotal role in bringing the Saudi and Zionist regimes closer.

Prince Bandar’s support from MKO in Iraq, al-Qaeda both in Iraq and Afghanistan and Fath al-Islam in Lebanon is a clear instance of interference in Iraq’s internal affairs

Al -Bayyinah al-jadidah, Baghdad, July 2007

Reproduced by Press TV, July 14, 2007

http://www.presstv.com/Detail.aspx?id=16405&sectionid=351020205

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